How to Be a Great Writer Without Writing Every Day

No doubt, consistency is important, but it’s the will to create and the curiosity to constantly keep improving that makes you a great writer

Ask any established writer what their biggest tip for upcoming writers is, and most of them will say the same thing, “Write every day.”

I used to believe the same. Up until a few months ago, when I started taking my writing seriously, I worked hard to build a writing routine. For more than six months, I ideated, outlined articles and stories, and wrote 2000+ words every day.

However, due to some personal reasons and a family emergency that happened in December 2020, I was unable to write anything for more than three weeks. This came at a hard time for me, especially because 2021 was the year I was going to quit my day job and become a full-time writer. One of my new year's resolutions was to write and publish five articles every week. Three weeks of almost no activity made me restless and sad.

I started questioning my motives. Maybe I wasn’t ready to be a full-time writer. Maybe I didn’t have it in me to be consistent. Maybe this immediately disqualified me from my hopes of pursuing my passion full-time.

I shared these emotions with a few friends in my writing groups, and they were very kind to offer words of comfort. They even shared articles and videos that helped me get out of this mindset.

This made me wonder if other writers have a similar issue with the “Write every day” advice. I recently ran a poll on Twitter asking the writing community if they found this advice annoying or motivating. Out of the 37 writers that voted, 62.2% voted that they found it annoying while only 37.8% found it motivating.

This raises the question: is it possible to be a great writer if you don’t write every day?

In this post, I’m going to discuss the key mindset shifts and science-backed reasons why not writing every day doesn’t make you a bad writer. There are ways in which you can keep growing and bettering your skills even if you don’t put your pen to paper for days (or weeks or months), and this article is all about that.

If you feel the weight of unwritten words on your chest like a physical ache, you’re a writer.

The first trick is to keep your eyes open

No matter where you are, the physical world around you is full of opportunities to learn. Every conversation you have, every shop you visit, every time you argue with your relatives —is an opportunity to observe and learn.

A 2008 study published in the Journal of Writing Research establishes that acquiring skill in such a complex domain as writing depends heavily on two processes via which writers can interact with the physical world: observation and inquiry. Participants who observe the events around them and ask relevant questions were found to be better readers and learners, and thus, better writers.

How you can do this

• Keep your eyes open for all the information around you. Every scene you witness has the potential to be included in your book or become the core idea of your next article.
• Don’t just observe, question. Why do some incidents make you feel emotional? How do the people around you gesture when they speak? What are some tell-tale signs a person is getting impatient?

The best writing lesson you’ll ever get is the day-to-day life around you. Keep an open mind even when you’re not writing. Chew on any interesting idea that strikes you and ruminate on it until you can make something concrete out of it.

The next trick is to not look at your phone

You might be wondering: “What’s the correlation between my phone and my writing?” According to the data provided by the screen-time tracking app Moment, the average user picks up their phone 52 times a day and spends 3 hours, 57 minutes using it.

But did you know you might be robbing yourself of a potential genius idea each time you pick up your phone when you’re bored?

A 2014 study published in the Creativity Research Journal found that the boredom felt during passive activities, liking reading reports or attending tedious meetings can actually heighten the “daydreaming effect” on creativity. In essence, the more passive the boredom you feel, the more likely you’d be to daydream, and the more creative you could be afterward.

Another study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology aimed to study how boredom affects associative thought. As summarized by David Burkus of Harvard Business Review, “the results suggest that boredom boosts creativity because of how people prefer to alleviate it. Boredom motivates people to approach new and rewarding activities.”

How you can do this

• The next time you have to wait in queue at the supermarket or for your doctor’s appointment, don’t pick up your phone and mindlessly scroll through social media. Instead, let your mind wander. Get bored and see what amazing ideas come to you.
• Combine this with the first step and use these opportunities to observe and learn. Each time you refuse to unlock your phone, you’re opening up the opportunity for you to seek new reflections and epiphanies. Don’t let your phone rob you of such wonderful experiences that could turn your writing into magic.

The best writing lesson you’ll ever get is the day-to-day life around you.

The third trick is to let yourself go

Don’t let your strict tag of “I’m a writer” define you. Let your creativity overflow and defy stereotypes. Try out different outlets. Record a song, splash paint on paper, make a stop-motion video — the possibilities are endless.

Most creative people need multiple outlets. As several studies have shown, creativity in any form is healthy. If you find more than one creative outlet, you’re basically allowing your creativity to define you, not your craft.

Having different creative outlets also sparks your creativity and makes you familiar with new ideas. It’ll give you a break from the anxiety of needing to write every single day and might lead to better ideas.

How you can do this

• Try different avenues of expressing your ideas.
• Keep in mind that not everything you do has to be commercially viable. Don’t let your need to be perfect hold you back from trying new hobbies.

Footballers are footballers even though they might only have two games scheduled that week. Astronauts are still astronauts even though they’ve only popped to the moon once.

The last trick is finding your way back to writing

At the end of the day, your frequency hardly matters. Whether you write every day or only when the inspiration strikes you, if you feel the weight of unwritten words on your chest like a physical ache, you’re a writer. Don’t let popular advice make you feel bad for missing a day (or a week or month) in your writing ritual.

If unexpressed words fill your mind like weeds in the garden, you know you have to get them out.

How you can do this

• Consume content that makes you feel. This doesn’t necessarily have to be reading a book. You can listen to podcasts, watch a few TED talks, or even movies. You never know what might strike a chord and end up becoming your next viral article.
• Start by writing something personal. For me, poetry always helps me get out of a creative slump. I might not publish every poem I write, but they help me get the unexpressed words off my chest.
• Mix up genres. If you usually write fact-based articles, try writing a personal story. If you mostly write fiction, maybe it’s time to switch gears and try your hand at a personal development piece.

As Nate Miller commented on my Tweet, “Write every day is not the right advice because it’s already obvious. We know it’s a great idea. It would be better to explain setting expectations, having self-compassion, and working towards a goal of completing your writing on your terms.”

You’re a writer. Writing is imprinted in your DNA.

Final words

Yes, getting back to writing after a long break is difficult, but think of it this way: in the cold months of winter, if you skip showering for a few days, do you stop showering altogether and embrace life as is?

If you chuckled at how ridiculous that is, missing a few days of writing shouldn’t disqualify you from being called a writer.

As my friend Emily Wilcox rightfully says, “Footballers are footballers even though they might only have two games scheduled that week. Astronauts are still astronauts even though they’ve only popped to the moon once.”

You’re a writer. Writing is imprinted in your DNA.

You will find your way back to writing and you will do it soon. A few skipped days don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

I create content in many different forms related to self-improvement, body-positivity, and feminism on several other platforms. Join my email list to make sure you don’t miss out on anything new.